Solution to Keep the US Government from Snooping

Solution to Keep the US Government from Snooping

In light of continuing news reports of the U.S. government snooping on email and related communications insecurities, Dave Anderson, senior director at Voltage Security offers an engaging commentary. He highlights the value of Solution to Keep the US Government from Snoopingencryption, where the intended email recipient, who is validated, is the one to decrypt the email’s data in order to read it. According to Anderson, the ultimate solution is a stateless key management encryption solution that generates crypto keys on demand, and only when encryption and decryption is needed.

“Email is such a ubiquitous form of communication in business today, not just for simple status communications to employees, but also to distribute content and information outside of the organization to customers, partners and suppliers. Most companies are using email to send sensitive information, including financial, HR, health care and other personally identifiable information, often times without realizing the ease of this information being exposed and lost unless the email and attachments are encrypted. 

“Email can be made private and not subject to exposure or snooping, if the proper encryption methods are implemented to protect the email and all attachments end-to-end, all the way through to the intended recipient. Identity-based encryption, which employs a user’s identity as part of the algorithm to generate the encryption keys on-demand, can effectively encrypt and secure email content and corresponding attachments, both structured and unstructured data, and can maintain that level of encryption from the moment it is created until it is decrypted and read by the intended recipient.

“Many of the surveillance programs in the recent news have employed a process not where they are breaking the crypto, but simply sniffing the email and payload content either before it has been encrypted or after it has been decrypted before it’s sent to the recipient. Gateway solutions are common in these scenarios where the sniffing happens at the gateway, once the gateway receives a clear text email but before the gateway encrypts, or alternatively once the recipient’s gateway receives the encrypted email and then decrypts, but before it gets sent to the recipient.  

“Email security has been available since the dot-com era began as PKI programs provided encryption solutions that could be integrated and used within common email systems.  However, these PKI-based solutions were very difficult to properly deploy. They were very manual in nature and therefore, not user friendly, and often the integration with email systems was difficult and not seamless.  Many companies did not deploy email encryption at this time simply because of these issues, although continued to use email to communicate sensitive information, assuming that other security controls, such as user access and authorization, VPN, or DLP solutions, would keep their email secure, which obviously hasn’t been the case.

“PGP, and other PKI-based encryption solutions, force the customer to adopt a manual, difficult process for generating and managing the crypto keys and certificates used to encrypt, decrypt, and validate users. The key management behind these systems is very difficult for the average enterprise to adopt, and is quite costly over the long run, as the management processes for these systems require a great deal of manual activity and oversight. A better alternative is a stateless key management encryption solution, where crypto keys are generated on demand, only when the user needs to encrypt and decrypt.  Stateless key management, combined with an identity-based encryption solution, completely removes the complexity, cost, and management overhead from an email encryption solution, and can be rapidly adopted and integrated into an enterprise.”

About the Author

Dave Anderson is senior director at Voltage Security.

Featured

  • Allegion, Comfort Technologies Implement Mobile Credentials at the Artisan Apartment Homes in Florida

    Artisan Apartment Homes, a luxury apartment complex in Dunedin, Florida, recently transitioned from mechanical keys to electronic locks and centralized system software with support from Allegion US, a leading provider of security solutions, technology and services, and Florida-based Comfort Technologies, which specializes in deploying multifamily access control, IoT devices and software management solutions. Read Now

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

New Products

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame.

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities